Where I started and where I'm at now... 9 month status check

Before and After
Before picture taken 12/4/09 | After picture taken 7/29/10

I created this side-by-side comparison photo this evening.  It's not out of vanity.  It's an effort to visualize how far I've come and a stark reminder of what will happen if I don't stay the course.

The first photo (on the left - obviously) was taken at a friend's birthday party on December 4, 2009.  The funny thing is that I remember that night and I don't remember feeling bad.  When I look at that picture, especially next to the more recent one I feel a sensation of being bloated and sluggish.  However, back then I felt just fine.  We had a nice time at the party and then left for a late dinner at Weber Grill in downtown Chicago where I recall eating a burger and fries.

The second photo was taken at a bar association function on July 29, 2010.  Frankly, at the time I took this picture I felt like I wasn't losing weight fast enough.  Before writing this blog post I looked back at what I was writing on this blog in July 2010 and found that I was looking at jump-starting my dieting to shed another 20 to 25 pounds.  And now I look at this picture - right next to the old me - and feel pretty good and grateful.

I know that I've got a ways to go still in my fitness goals.  I've still got a gut that's slowing me down.  I still need to make a lot of strides in my running in particular.

In fact, this morning as I was leaving the house to go to work I saw a guy out running.  I watched him run by the house as I walked to my car.  As I watched him run by I couldn't help but feel envious.  This runner's strides were smooth and he was moving fast.  His face looked focused but not strained.  I felt envious because I'm sure I don't look like that when I'm running.  When I'm running I feel like I'm lumbering.  I can only imagine that it's not pretty watching me plod along!

That's fine though.  I'm not getting down on myself.  On most days I can knock off 5 miles without any trouble and I can cover 7.5 miles with just a little more thought and focus.  That's pretty darn good, but I know I can improve and that's what the self-criticism is about - improvement.

A good running weekend...2.12 miler followed by a 12 miler

This is part of the course I'll be running for the 1/2
marathon on 11/27/10!

On Saturday (11/13) I ran 2.12 miles outside.  On Sunday (11/14) I ran 12 miles - 7.5 miles outside and the remaining miles on the treadmill.  It was a good weekend of running.

Saturday's run was the "race among friends" rematch.  I won the first race back in August in Tampa, FL.  My chief competition, S.T., clearly prepared for the rematch as she beat me very convincingly.  I came in second.

S.T. probably finished a solid 10 to 15 seconds ahead of me.  She was always within sight but I just didn't have the kick to try closing the gap in the home stretch.  Frankly, I was a bit worried about being overtaken in the final part of the race.  My wife came in 3rd (she came in 4th last time) and then my friend M.H. came in 4th (she came in 3rd last time).  The only constant was M.H.'s husband F.H. who came in last both times (although he wasn't very far behind this time around).

All the long distance running had no impact on this short distance race.  In hindsight, I should have training for this distance for a few weeks prior, and if I had done so, I may have been able to win this race.  The re-match will be in April 2010.  It will be a 5K.

On Sunday afternoon I went out (after the Bears vs. Vikings game ended) to run 12 miles.  By the 7.5 mile mark it was getting dark and I felt the rain starting.  I moved indoors and finished my run on the treadmill in the basement.  I felt the soreness in my knees afterwards.

Both days were cold.  Saturday's race was cool and rainy.  Sunday's run was cold and windy.  As of today (Monday) I think I have a little cold as a result of my time running outside!

Over the course of the next week (between now and Sunday) I hope to run at least 3 times and cover about 15 miles with one outing being at least 7.5 miles.  Then, in the following week I'll really taper it down so that I'm running a little bit everyday.

The Schaumburg Park District Turkey Trot 1/2 Marathon is on Saturday, November 27, 2010!

Good runs on Wednesday & Thursday - what's changed?

I've been off my game so to speak last week.  The last good runs I had coming up to this past Wednesday were my 11.20 mile run and the following Saturday's 7.5 mile run (both Saturday long runs).  All of last week my runs suffered from a lack of focus and my mental inability to deal with the cold weather (there may have been some soreness too but that would only account for a small part of why I didn't run well).

Thanks in large part to unseasonably warm temperature and a lack of precipitation, I've had a good week of running this week.  On Wednesday I went out in the evening and knocked out 5 miles and felt great afterwards.  Yesterday I ran 3 miles on the treadmill and rode the stationary bike for 20+ minutes, and again, I felt great afterwards.

I'm going to invest in a few more articles of cold weather gear so that I can get the training done for the upcoming 1/2 marathon (11/27/10) and then for the 1/2 marathon itself.  Heretofore the only thing I've added to my running equipment is a long sleeve mock turtleneck tech shirt from Under Armor (the cold weather kind).  I need a warm but thin jacket, some kind of sweat-wicking beanie or cap and maybe some long compression pants.

Tomorrow morning I've got the 2.12 mile race with my friends and my wife so I'm not going to run tonight.  I'll lift weights tonight and maybe ride the stationary bike a bit.

Because tomorrow I'll have a very short workout and also because last week's 12 mile was such a miserable experience, I'm going to try 12 miles again on Sunday.  I need to conquer this mileage milestone going into the 11/27 race.  I need to know that I've done it so that there is a psychological edge on race day.  I'll do the run in the afternoon after the Bears game.

Even after running 12 miles on Sunday I'll still have a solid 13 days to rest (relatively speaking).  I'll be able to run shorter distances with the comfort of knowing that I've already covered the long miles!

A 2.12 mile race among friends - 11/13/10

This past August I went on vacation to Florida with my family.  We went down with another family to visit another friend.  Our little group of middle aged parents decided to have a little running race while on vacation.  It turned out to be a 2.25 mile route and the results weren't what my wife and our friends anticipated.  I won quite convincingly.

My wife and friends weren't anticipating the Clydesdale of Hoffman Estates lumbering to victory the way I did.  So, in the face of this little upset victory (or loss from their point of view) they decided to make a bunch of excuses for themselves and demanded a re-match in the fall.

It's been about 3 months since our first race and the time for our re-match has arrived.  This Saturday - 11/13/10 - our friends will be coming over and we'll be running a 2.12 mile route in Hoffman Estates.  Apparently my wife and our friends have been training.  Will I be able to repeat?

Frankly, I'm not sure!  I've been doing a lot of longer and slower runs since the summer.  It's been largely due to my 1/2 marathon training.  While I've been able to successful run 11.20 miles without much trouble, I'm concerned that a fast 2.12 miles may be as hard, if not harder, this Saturday.

I actually went out and ran 2.12 miles on Monday night.  At my 11 minute/mile pace it would have been a cake walk.  I tried to maintain a 9 minute/mile pace and it was nothing short of HARD!  I was really winded after 2.12 miles at the faster pace!  I finished the first half of the run at the 9 minute/mile pace but the return leg was slower (approximately 10 minute/mile pace).

When I walked out the door before the run on Monday night I told my wife I'd be gone for about 1.5 hours.  My plan was to run the 2.12 miles fast and then slow it down for a longer run for about 1 hour.  Well, by the end of the 2.12 miles I didn't have the drive to keep running so I came inside and finished up my workout in the basement with about 50 minutes of weight training.

I took yesterday off since I'd worked out several days in a row without a break.  I was feeling the onset of a cold anyhow so the break was probably in order in any case.

Tonight I'm supposed to run again and then lift weights.  I've got a bit of a cold, but I think I'll go ahead and do my scheduled workout.  Tomorrow I'm going to try running twice - once in the morning and then again in the evening.  On Friday I'll lift weights again and by Saturday morning I should be ready for the 2.12 mile race among friends!

Running in cold weather - so far, no good!

I went outside for a run yesterday.  It was a bit windy and the temperature was about 37 degrees.  I wore a t-shirt, an under-armor cold-gear mock-turtleneck and a sweatshirt and running pants.  I also had on a knit hat and gloves.  It wasn't enough.  I felt miserable.

I need to wear better gear if I'm going to run for 2.5 hours or more outside.  Miserable.

Getting ready for a 12 + Mile Run

I've finally reached the point in my training where I need to run a 12 + mile run.  Gulp!

This weekend I did a 7.5 mile long run because it was a "step-down" week.  This weekend I'm supposed to run 12 miles or more.  Two weekends ago I did 11.20 miles so 12 miles should not be too hard.  If I decide to try for more then it may become harder.

My diet has been absolutely horrid.  I've been eating junk food and fast food quite a bit.  It has been so bad that I've been gaining weight but it certainly isn't helping me get stronger.

I have a bit of a challenge this week (above and beyond running 12 + miles).  We're going to Michigan on Saturday morning.  I'm not going to be able to run on Saturday morning.  It looks like I'm going to have to run on Friday after work.  That's not only not ideal, it is horrible.  I don't know if I'll have the energy to do it.

I may need to take a half day on Friday to allow myself time to get my run in.  If I can started by 3pm then I can be done just as it is getting dark.  I'll probably run the large neighborhood loop (2.46 miles per), because the forest preserve closes at sunset and I'd like to not be in the middle of the preserves when it gets dark!

Once I finish this week's long run I will not have any more long runs until the half marathon.

11.20 miles (to be precise) in the cold rain was very hard

Today's scheduled long run was 11 miles.  I ran 11.20 miles at the Shoe Factory Road Forest Preserve.  I dressed for a cold and dry day.  I ended up with a cool but very wet morning instead.  The combination of the distance and the cold rain made today's run very hard.

This is the route I ran:


I felt great on the "out" leg of the run (I run out to the halfway point of my planned run and the run back "in").  There was an intermittent mist all morning, but by the time I got turned around and was only about 1/2 mile into the "in" leg the mist became a steady rain and that rain continued for a solid 30 minutes.

The rain made my run harder.  I was wearing a knit hat on my head.   That's not a great choice of headgear as the cotton hat was water-logged within minutes.  I wore a cotton henley long-sleeve on top of my cold weather Under Armor long sleeve mock turtleneck shirt.  Again, it was water-logged within minutes.  My shoes and socks were soaked pretty quickly once the heavy rain started coming down.

The clothing became heavier with the water and this certainly played a role in making the run more difficult.  But as I look back on this morning's run I think the rain hurt me the most by breaking my focus and distracting me.  I should have tried harder to remain focused.  Instead of focusing on my running form and my speed and thinking about the importance of every training day leading up to the half marathon (that's a little mantra I have: "make every training day count!"), I let myself think about how cold and miserable I was.  That was dumb.  I started worrying that my wet feet would blister.  I started worrying that I'd catch a cold.  Dumb and dumber still.

I finished the run but I was dragging during the last 2.5 miles.  It should have finished the run in about 2 hours and a few minutes.  Instead, it took me 2 hours and 15 minutes.  Ugh.

I'm not beating myself up over the time.  I'm not deluding myself into trying to work on speed already.  Rather, I'm upset that (1) I didn't prepare properly for the weather, and (2) I allowed myself to lose focus.  If I would have worn a water-repellant jacket (I have one) and remained focused on the mechanics of my running I would have had a much better training day.

Today was a great hands-on lesson in the power of focus and on the mental aspect of an athletic endeavor.  I'm convinced that my negative thoughts played a significant role in the slower and more painful second part of my morning run.  I'll try to learn from today's experience and find a way to avoid the same mistake in the coming weeks.